WSAW - HomePage - Headlines

Merrill Boy Scout Makes Historic Find in South Dakota Cave

Updated: Sun 8:51 AM, Jul 01, 2012

A local boy scout came away from a cave tour with more than just memories -- he made a historic find too.

Caleb Wensel, of Merrill Boy Scout troop 503, was on a "wild cave tour" in the Black Hills of South Dakota when he discovered a piece of string inside a part of the cave called the "Muddle room."

When Caleb mentioned he saw the string, his guide told the troop not to touch it and quarantined the area.

It's believed that the string was used by the original cave owner for navigation purposes.

"I was really happy to find it because I knew it was a pretty big deal," says Caleb. "She documented it there right there in the cave and said it was going in the history log."

Park officials plan to go back to the site of the discovery to document and photograph the string.

Wind Cave was discovered in 1890 by explorer Alvin Frank McDonald at the age of 16.


All comments must adhere to the WSAW.com discussion rules.
powered by Disqus
Weather for Wausau, Wisconsin
46° F
Clear
Sun
66 38
Mon
68 44
Tue
72 52
Wed
76 64

News Videos

WSAW's Most Commented

powered by Disqus
WSAW-TV 1114 Grand Ave. Wausau, WI 54403
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability
User Agent: CCBot/2.0 - 160991715